When we talk about the doing the deal, the point is to get the deal done, right? To get to yes in the most advantageous way possible for your company—the deal that best serves your specific interest, at the lowest possible cost. And then you move on to the next deal,...
A couple of years ago my clients started asking me, “Do you follow up with my people after training to check for their understanding of our Terms & Conditions or do I?” Today, (not in years past) I say we both should. My efforts alone are not enough....
You’ve all been told that to create value in your negotiations and get the “best” deal for your organization you need to expand the pie, not just haggle over the limited and fixed number of pie pieces. But no one has really demonstrated pie expansion – value – for...
Imagine a mid-level manager in the global commodities group got an email from the operations manager from a plant that read something like this: “Bob, I called ABC supplier to see where our XYZ parts are, and they told me that we’ll get them in 3 weeks. They...
Okay, I’m coming out. I meditate. I have for years. Besides all the health benefits, I believe that meditation has helped me further develop my ability to really focus. Anyone who has ever talked to me knows that I encourage everyone to take time to really plan for...
There is a lot of power in making an opening offer. In fact, the opening offer anchors the entire price conversation. Do you want to set the anchor, or allow the other party to set the anchor? You should make a conscience choice. By setting the anchor, you are...
80% of Business to Business purchases involve some sort of contract. This fact startled me, even though I am an attorney. More telling, those contracts have become increasingly sophisticated. Contracts typically contain rebate language, chargeback mechanisms, and...
When is the last time that you sat down to think about your goals for an upcoming negotiation? If you are like many others, you have not considered this question beyond thinking about price. There is much more to setting negotiation goals than hitting a certain price...
Here are some of my negotiation pet peeves! Open display of animosity between negotiators Lack of understanding of what the other side needs Incomplete and/or wrong data Poor follow up on questions, solutions or methods Business as usual responses to questions Hide...
Keld Jensen, one of the leading authors on negotiating partnerships said this: “Poor negotiations skills are probably the biggest single cause of major costs and lost opportunities to any organization. And what is more –most companies do not even see it!” The problem,...
